Simple characterization scheme for optical coherence tomography systems with application to a commercial and a near-isometric resolution fibre-based system
Date
2021-12-14Author
Dey, Rajib
Zhou, Yi
Neuhaus, Kai
Alexandrov, Sergey
Nolan, Andrew
Chang, Ting-Chiao
Leahy, Martin
Metadata
Show full item recordUsage
This item's downloads: 43 (view details)
Cited 0 times in Scopus (view citations)
Recommended Citation
Dey, R., Zhou, Y., Neuhaus, K., Alexandrov, S., Nolan, A., Chang, T. C., & Leahy, M. (2022). Simple Characterization Scheme for Optical Coherence Tomography Systems With Application to a Commercial and a Near-Isometric Resolution Fibre-Based System. IEEE Photonics Journal, 14(1), 1-11. doi: 10.1109/JPHOT.2021.3135058
Published Version
Abstract
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a rapidly
growing imaging modality in biomedical optics. OCT can perform
high-resolution, cross-sectional imaging of the microstructure of
biological tissues by measuring the coherent spectrum from the
backscattered light. OCT systems with broad spectral bandwidths
are often constructed using free-space optics to avoid dispersion
by fibre optic components. This paper presents a fibre-based OCT
system at a centrewavelength of 1300nmwith an axial resolution of
3.8 ¿m in air, surpassing any previously reported values to the best
of our knowledge. Despite the challenges in transporting a broadband
spectrum using fibre-optics, the system investigation was
motivated by the ever-increasing demand for commercialization
of high-resolution OCT systems and simplification of construction.
We also evaluate and demonstrate the direct measurement method
for axial resolution using an air wedge. Imaging of biomedical and
other samples is demonstrated using a high numerical aperture
sample lens and compared with images from a commercial OCT
system. We discuss the effect of the improved structural visibility
by achieving image voxels closer to an isometric shape with a high
NA sample lens.